San Jose: School officials scramble to keep kids cool in classrooms without A/C

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First grader Drystan Aldama, puts his head down during class at Horace Cureton Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Currently about half of the classrooms at the school do not have air conditioning and on a hot day like today, plenty of cold water was handed out to students and staff and fans were going full blast in rooms without air conditioning to keep the kids as cool as possible. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

(Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

A small fan in the back of a classroom at Horace Cureton Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., photographed on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Currently about half of the classrooms at the school do not have air conditioning and on a hot day like today, plenty of cold water was handed out to students and staff and fans were going full blast in rooms without air conditioning to keep the kids as cool as possible. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

A message written on the board of a second grade classroom at Horace Cureton Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., photographed on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Currently about half of the classrooms at the school do not have air conditioning and on a hot day like today, plenty of cold water was handed out to students and staff and fans were going full blast in rooms without air conditioning to keep the kids as cool as possible. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Coach Ray Maldonado gets a hug from a student as he hands out ice water and bottled water to students at Horace Cureton Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Currently about half of the classrooms at the school do not have air conditioning and on a hot day like today, plenty of cold water was handed out to students and staff and fans were going full blast in rooms without air conditioning to keep the kids as cool as possible. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Second grader Roman Garcia, left, tries to cool himself off with his water bottle as he and Stephanie Costello listen to their lesson at Horace Cureton Elementary School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Currently about half of the classrooms at the school do not have air conditioning and on a hot day like today, plenty of cold water was handed out to students and staff and fans were going full blast in rooms without air conditioning to keep the kids as cool as possible. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Half the classrooms at Horace Cureton Elementary School don’t have air conditioning, forcing the children to sit in sweltering classrooms as temperatures in San Jose soared to scorching heights. The highs in San Jose are expected to hit triple digits on Friday and Saturday.

“It’s very hot,” said a 7-year-old second grade girl whose mom has been packing her ice water. “I’ve been staying in the shade.”

School administrators were helping kids beat the heat by passing out cold water, using stationary fans and taking them to other classrooms with air conditioning in the afternoon. About 12 of the campus’ 24 classrooms lack air conditioning.

Cureton, which was built in the 1950s, is one of two schools in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District without proper cooling. The other is Ryan Elementary School.

“Right now, my 7-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son are sweltering in classrooms with no air conditioning,” wrote Alison Cingolani in an email to the school district’s board president. She accused district leaders of spending taxpayer dollars on new schools instead of upgrading existing ones. “It is unacceptable to ask our students and educators to attempt to function in these unsafe conditions.”

District officials said Friday that the two schools will get air conditioning as part of a renovation next summer, using money from Measure I, a $140 million bond voters approved in June 2016.

“Funding has been one of the major challenges,” said Rene Sanchez, the district’s assistant superintendent. “There are concerns from parents, but we’ve been communicating with them and we’re proactive about keeping students hydrated and safe.”

Principal Le Tran said the district provided tons of ice and 900 water bottles. “We definitely have a plan in place for today,” she said.

On Thursday, San Jose temperatures tied a 1943 record of 95 degrees. It was only expected to get hotter: 105 on Friday and 101 on Saturday.

San Jose leaders opened cooling hubs to help people get out of the sun inside six community centers: Roosevelt, Bascom, Seven Trees, Mayfair, Camden and Southside. The centers, which are usually opened when temperatures exceed 97 degrees, will be open until Sept. 4.

Ramona Giwargis is the San Jose City Hall reporter at The Mercury News. After stints in Eureka, Salinas and Merced, Giwargis returned to San Jose to cover local government and politics for her hometown newspaper. Giwargis won numerous awards for investigative journalism and is a graduate of San Jose State University.